Q&A with Mike Laidley, vice president of Orbital ATK’s Next Generation Launch program (members only)

Spaceflight Now editor Stephen Clark spoke live to International Space Station astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur about their mission Friday.

The nuclear power generator for NASA’s Perseverance rover has been installed on the spacecraft atop an Atlas 5 rocket at Cape Canaveral, and mission managers gave a green light Wednesday to continue preparations for the rover’s July 30 launch toward Mars.

A day after aborting a rendezvous to resolve a navigation glitch, SpaceX’s Dragon cargo craft made a smooth final approach to the International Space Station on Thursday, floating in range of the research lab’s robot arm for capture at 5:44 a.m. EST (1044 GMT).